Research on Recycling of Packaging Waste in Germany

Abstract: The recycling of packaging waste is an important way to save resources and develop circular economy. It is of great significance for us to learn about the management mode, organization system, collection, transportation, disposal and utilization of packaging waste in Germany. .

Keywords: packaging waste recycling

Germany ranks among the top countries in the world in waste disposal. It is one of the countries that actively promotes waste reduction and recycling, and is one of the first countries to adopt legislation to manage waste. In order to minimize the generation of packaging waste, Germany enacted the “Waste Removal Act” in 1972. In 1986, the law was revised and the “About Avoidance and Waste Disposal Act” was enacted. This law is relative to the past. Pay attention to garbage removal, give priority to avoiding and reducing the generation of garbage, and emphasize recycling in the law. Based on this method, in 1991, 500 member companies of the German Packaging Industry, Consumer Goods Manufacturers Association and Business Association took the lead in establishing a binary company (DSD) in Cologne, specializing in the recovery and reuse of packaging waste. The company was initially a limited liability company and later developed into a joint-stock company with branches all over Germany and other European countries. It currently has branches in the United States and Canada.

1 The concept of a binary system

The binary system refers to the re-establishment of a system outside the normal public waste disposal system, which is responsible for the disposal of packaging waste (composed of glass, paper, plastic, aluminum, tin, and composite materials, etc.). The binary system is responsible for the collection, classification, and utilization of packaging waste, and it is jointly participated by the producers and sellers of the products, and the processing costs are paid by the companies or sellers that have obtained the “Green Point” logo certification. The behavior of the binary system is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection.

DSD has a special trademark - "Der Greune Punkt". DSD grants qualified manufacturers, sellers, and importers the right to use the “Green Dot” trademark and signs an agreement with these organizations. All products that have the “Green Dot” logo on their packaging must be paid to DSD. Packaging waste recycling funds, whether these companies are in Germany or in other countries. According to statistics, in 2002 there were nearly 19,000 companies using the "Green Point" trademark, distributed throughout Europe and Canada, and 90% of the goods circulating on the German market were marked with "green dots."

"Green Point" is both a symbol of recycling and a sign of environmental protection. "Green Point" encourages companies to constantly update packaging materials to facilitate the automatic classification of packaging waste, ultimately reducing the use of packaging materials, and companies will also reduce the cost of their contributions and benefit from it.

2 The purpose and task of the binary system setup

The purpose of the binary system setup is to reduce the amount of domestic garbage and corporate waste similar to domestic garbage, and to reduce the burden on the garbage disposal equipment. According to statistics, about half of the total domestic garbage volume in Germany and about 1/3 of the total weight are packaging wastes, which can be recycled through another collection system, thus reducing the production of domestic garbage by 25% to 30%.

The principle of binary system setup is to avoid, reduce and utilize. The task of the binary system is to set up garbage collection containers near residential areas or public facilities to collect and transport recyclable materials. The pre-processing and re-use of the collected packaging wastes are performed by the participating companies involved.

3 Binary Systems and Garbage Processing

Relationships between companies and consumers Consumers place packaging waste printed with “Green Dot” logos in yellow bins. Each household has at least one yellow bin, yellow garbage bag or garbage storage container. Private or public waste disposal companies establish recyclable material collection bins (containers) near public facilities and residential areas, and are responsible for the collection and transportation of packaging waste, and hand them over to related companies for pretreatment and reuse. The waste disposal company establishes a collection system that collects, transports, and sorts packaging waste that is commissioned by the binary system and paid for by the binary system. Therefore, the binary system has fully taken into consideration the existing waste collection and collection system and integrated it with it. The “dual track system” does not appear and the already existing collection system is excluded. On the contrary, it has been strengthened and expanded.

4 How companies pay for the use of "green dots"

The disposal cost of packaging waste with the “Green Dot” logo is paid by the company that uses the trademark, but the cost is ultimately borne by the consumer because the consumer is buying the commodity with the “Green Dot” logo. This part of the fee has already been included. Consumers will not pay for the waste if they classify the waste and put the “green dot” logo in the yellow trash bin or yellow trash bag. .

5 Classification, disposal and use of packaging waste

The new classification technology can automate the classification of packaging waste without the need for manual operations. This not only improves efficiency, but also guarantees the quality of the classification. Residents packaged waste into a yellow trash can or yellow garbage bag, collected by the DSD sent to the sorting site for automatic classification, detection of plastic film, tin, drink boxes, aluminum, PE (polyethylene plastic), PP (polypropylene plastic), PS (polystyrene plastic), PET (poly-p-styrene plastic), mixed plastic materials and other composite materials.

6 Classification and disposal of packaging waste

The classified packaging waste is recycled by different companies according to different categories.

(a) Beverage boxes, waste paper and old cartons were crushed and other impurities, pulping and other processes were separated to obtain fibers and other composite materials, PE, and aluminum. Fibers are further processed by paper mills to produce paper products such as corrugated cardboard, cartons, and envelopes. PE is used as a fuel for cement production, and aluminum is used as a substitute for bauxite for the production of cement.
(b) The mixed plastic packaging material is crushed into pellets (grains) to obtain clinker pellets, which are used as substitutes for heavy oil that produces iron.
(3) The plastic bottles and plastic films are crushed, washed and separated according to different densities, settling, drying, extruding, remelting, etc. to obtain pure plastic granules that can be further processed. The deep processing is performed by the plastics factory to produce plastic films and flowers. Pots, plastic tubes, beverage boxes, etc.
(iv) Glass containers, such as glass bottles, are classified and collected according to different colors. After being crushed, magnetically/rotaryly separated, plastics, metals and paper are separated, variegated glass and other impurities are screened, and finally processed into glass products by melting. Glass bottles, cups, etc.
(5) Used tin packaging waste, obtained by extrusion, melting, casting, etc., to obtain iron plates, and then cold-processed into cans, car bodies, etc.
(6) Used aluminum packaging waste, which is obtained through crushing, impurity separation, thermal pretreatment, melting, casting, etc., and processed and utilized by aluminum product processing plants.

7 Conclusion

With the continuous development of the economy and society, people’s living standards have gradually improved, lifestyles have changed, and packaging wastes have also increased. Unsorted packaging wastes are mixed with other wastes and eventually landfilled. The field not only wastes raw materials and natural resources, but also increases the load on landfills and causes environmental pollution. Scientific classification of these wastes (garbage), reasonable recycling, turning waste into treasure, reducing waste, saving resources, protecting the environment, but also creating value, sustainable development of resources, the environment and the economy . The experience of Germany in this regard is of great significance for us to deal with domestic garbage (especially municipal solid waste) and develop circular economy.

Luo Rencai[1] Yao Xiaojun[2]
[1] Hanzhong City Environmental Protection Monitoring Station of Shaanxi Province [2] Shaanxi Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau

Source: "China's Comprehensive Utilization of Resources"